How many kilos of rice did we lose this year?
There's a saying in our community that "If we see a star during the month of Ashar and Shrawan(Mid June to Mid August) that equals a loss of 60,00,000 kilos of rice." This Ashar and Shrawan, how many stars did you see ? Though the numerical figure mentioned above might be highly exaggerated by our ancestors, this saying makes sense. They meant that during these months the sky must remain cloudy and there must be rain and nothing but rain. Otherwise the planted rice will not receive enough water and there will be loss of grain.
This monsoon there is no rain in most of the villages of Nepal and most of the land remains barren. In many fields where rice was planted, now those plants are starting to die. Credit goes to climate change and no monsoon rain. I have heard that around 80% of the field is not planted and farmers stand desperate and hopeless praying the so called Sky God so that it will rain.
 The sky remains cloudless and we can see twinkling stars during night. Though this might be soothing for those who cherish their evening looking at the stars, it is very heart rending for the the farmers whose farming depends solely on monsoon rain.